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Overall it was good news for members of East Phillips County Hospital District after hearing a report from Rick Steen of Eide Bailly on the 2009 audited financials.

Steen reported everything looked good, but there were a couple of things he pointed out while going through the information during the board meeting Tuesday, June 22.

Operation costs is an area Steen urged the board to look into. Price adjustments is something he mentioned which MMH has already been looking into with the charge description master review.

Other items are the preparation of financial statements and segregation of duties. Steen said segregation of duties is difficult with a smaller facility. Administrator John Ayoub said these two findings have appeared on past audits as well.

Steen ran through comparative graphs outlining where MMH stands in regard to other critical access hospitals in Colorado. He stressed MMH needs to focus on the operating margin if they want to generate cash in the long term.

Both Ayoub and MMH CFO Greg Was reported the audit team did a wonderful job throughout the process.

Administrator reports activity

Administrator Ayoub said with Dr. Kevin Cuccinelli’s announcement of plans to leave, MMH needs to pick up another provider. He said Cuccinelli’s term will be filled through the end of the year by Dr. Ted Lin.

Long-term plans have been set in motion to hire a new physician. MMH will use Delta Physician Placement to search for a new doctor, and Ayoub feels confident in the company and said he has heard good things about them.

Peggi Pearson of Colby, Kan. was hired to fill the vacant compliance officer/quality director position and will begin July 12. The position opened up in May with the resignation of Erica Brady.

The administrator said the community linkages committee has a good feel to merge back into one health fair but plans to come up with ideas to continue to reach out and educate the Hispanic community.

Ayoub reported they had a successful first-quarter employee forum with staff. The balanced scorecard was reviewed and an employee survey was handed out.

Ayoub said payments from Medicaid to providers will be delayed due to a state fiscal emergency. He added the hospital will not see a negative impact as a result.

MMH will see an increase in matching funds beginning with fiscal year 2010, according to Ayoub.

Under capital purchases, Ayoub said the new ultrasound machine was a good investment and a big benefit. With the old machine, MMH performed an average of 30 ultrasounds a month. Ayoub reported within the first week 20 ultrasounds were performed and 32 within the first two weeks.

A special bed is also being looked at for possible purchase. A striker sleep surface bed is a bed for patients who are susceptible to pressure ulcers or other skin problems. MMH currently rents one when needed.

EPCHD board members were elected to offices with Steve Young continuing on as the president, Steve Deaver vice president and Sheryl Farnsworth secretary/treasurer.